System for storing and delivering food trays

Abstract

The system is used for storing and delivering individual food trays having opposite hot and cold food products areas. The housing includes two separate chambers that can receive food trays through a respective one among two opposite lateral openings. Among other things, from the standpoint of an attendant at a food tray assembly station, this system allows using the same left-right food tray orientation regardless of which one of the lateral openings is directly set in front of the standpoint after repositioning the whole housing.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system for storing and delivering individual food trays, each food tray having separate hot and cold food products areas on opposite sides of a transversal demarcation line, the system including:
 a housing having two lateral doors to selectively open and close a respective one among two opposite lateral openings, the housing including separate first and second chambers, each chamber having an enclosed internal space accessed through a respective one of the lateral openings, each chamber including: 
 a tray supporting arrangement having a plurality of vertically spaced stacking positions, each stacking position corresponding to a stowage space for receiving one of the food trays with the chamber through the respective lateral opening; and 
 a vertically extending thermal barrier to divide the enclosed internal space within the chamber into separate vertically extending hot and cold food products sections along the demarcation line on the food trays; and 
 when viewed from above, the hot food products section of the first chamber and the hot food products section of the second chamber are diametrically opposite to one another, and the cold food products section of the first chamber and the cold food products section of the second chamber are diametrically opposite to one another, 
 wherein the system includes an air passage arrangement forming a hot food products air circuit and a cold food products air circuit that are separate from one another. 
 
     
     
       2. The system as defined in  claim 1 , the hot food products air circuit including a first portion passing inside the hot food products section of the first chamber, and including a second portion passing inside the hot food products section of the second chamber, the cold food products air circuit including a first portion passing inside the cold food products section of the second chamber, and including a second portion passing inside the cold food products section of the first chamber. 
     
     
       3. The system as defined in  claim 2 , wherein the air passage arrangement includes a first set of inlet and outlet ports and a second set of inlet and outlet ports, the hot food products air circuit extending between the inlet and outlet ports of the first set, and the cold food products air circuit extending between the inlet and outlet ports of the second set. 
     
     
       4. The system as defined in  claim 3 , wherein the air passage arrangement includes:
 a first pair of separate vertical air conduits in which the hot food products air circuit has opposite incoming and outgoing flow paths, the first pair of vertical air conduits being substantially adjacent and parallel to one another and forming a first vertical double air duct, the first vertical double air duct having an air diffuser panel extending along one side of the hot food products section of the first chamber; 
 a second pair of separate vertical air conduits in which the hot food products air circuit passes following opposite incoming and outgoing flow paths, the second pair of vertical air conduits being substantially adjacent and parallel to one another and forming a second vertical double air duct, the second vertical double air duct having an air diffuser panel extending along one side of the hot food products section of the second chamber; 
 a third pair of separate vertical air conduits in which the cold food products air circuit passes following opposite incoming and outgoing flow paths, the third pair of vertical air conduits being substantially adjacent and parallel to one another and forming a third vertical double air duct, the third vertical double air duct having an air diffuser panel extending along one side of the cold food products section of the second chamber; and 
 a fourth pair of separate vertical air conduits in which the cold food products air circuit passes following opposite incoming and outgoing flow paths, the fourth pair of vertical air conduits being substantially adjacent and parallel to one another and forming a fourth vertical double air duct, the fourth vertical double air duct having an air diffuser panel extending along one side of the cold food products section of the first chamber. 
 
     
     
       5. The system as defined in  claim 4 , wherein the air passage arrangement includes a first pair of separate horizontal air conduits that are substantially adjacent and parallel to one another and in which the hot food products air circuit follows opposite incoming and outgoing flow paths, and a second pair of separate horizontal air conduits that are substantially adjacent and parallel to one another and in which the cold food products air circuit follows opposite incoming and outgoing flow paths, the first and second pairs of horizontal air conduits being located above the enclosed internal spaces within the chambers. 
     
     
       6. The system as defined in  claim 5 , wherein the air conduits of the first pair of horizontal air conduits form a first horizontal double air duct, and the air conduits of the second pair of horizontal air conduits form a second horizontal double air duct, one among the first and second horizontal air ducts being positioned vertically above the other, the first and second horizontal air ducts having a substantially X-shaped configuration when viewed from above. 
     
     
       7. The system as defined in  claim 6 , wherein each air conduit of the first horizontal double air duct establishes a direct fluid communication between a corresponding one of the air conduits of the first vertical double air duct and a corresponding one of the air conduits of the second vertical double air duct, and wherein each air conduit of the second horizontal double air duct establishes a direct fluid communication between a corresponding one of the air conduits of the third vertical double air duct and a corresponding one of the air conduits of the fourth vertical double air duct. 
     
     
       8. The system as defined in  claim 7 , wherein each air diffuser panel includes a plurality of sets of air apertures, each set being in registry with a respective one of the stowage spaces within the corresponding chamber and including at least one incoming air aperture and at least one outgoing air aperture that are configured and disposed to create a local air circuit subbranch within each stowage space. 
     
     
       9. The system as defined in  claim 8 , wherein each air diffuser panel of the first and second vertical double air ducts includes an additional set of air apertures in registry with a bottom airspace within the corresponding hot food products section that is immediately vertically below a bottommost of the stowage spaces, the additional set including at least one incoming air aperture and at least one outgoing air aperture that are configured and disposed to create an additional local air circuit subbranch within the bottom airspace, and wherein the system further includes a humidifier tray provided within each bottom airspace and over which passes the corresponding additional local air circuit subbranch. 
     
     
       10. The system as defined in  claim 9 , wherein each humidifier tray includes a water receptacle having a plurality of vertically extending baffles positioned in a labyrinth-like layout. 
     
     
       11. The system as defined in  claim 3 , wherein the system further includes a wheeled carriage over which the housing is mounted to form a food tray delivery cart. 
     
     
       12. The system as defined in  claim 11 , wherein the system further includes a heating/cooling unit mounted over the carriage for supplying thermally regulated air into the air circuits. 
     
     
       13. The system as defined in  claim 12 , wherein the heating/cooling unit includes a set of internal air dampers having a food storage configuration and a food heating configuration, the food storage configuration establishing a first internal flow path going from the first outlet port to an evaporator, through the evaporator, and then from the evaporator to the first inlet port, and the food heating configuration establishing a second internal air flow path going from the first outlet port to the first inlet port and bypassing the evaporator. 
     
     
       14. The system as defined in  claim 13 , wherein in the food storage configuration, the first inlet port is in fluid communication within the heating/cooling unit with the first and second outlet ports, and in the food heating configuration, the first inlet port is in fluid communication within the heating/cooling unit with only the first outlet port, the heating/cooling unit including an air hearer to supply heat to air following the second internal air flow path before exiting the heating/cooling unit. 
     
     
       15. The system as defined in  claim 13 , wherein the system further includes a control module mounted on the food tray delivery cart, the control module providing a selection between a food storage mode or in a food heating mode, the internal air dampers being set in the food storage configuration during the food storage mode, and being set in the food heating configuration during the food heating mode. 
     
     
       16. The system as defined in  claim 11  wherein the system includes a docking station, the food tray delivery cart being movable relative to the docking station between a docked and an undocked position, the food tray delivery cart, when in the docked position, establishing a cooperative engagement with the docking station for supplying thermally regulated air into the air circuits. 
     
     
       17. The system as defined in  claim 16 , wherein the system further includes a heating/cooling unit provided inside the docking station. 
     
     
       18. The system as defined in  claim 16 , wherein the system further includes:
 a locking arrangement to releasably secure the food tray delivery cart to the docking station in the docked position, and 
 at least one position sensor cooperating with the locking arrangement. 
 
     
     
       19. The system as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the first chamber and the second chamber are separated from one another within the housing by an intervening vertically extending partition wall. 
     
     
       20. The system as defined in  claim 1 , wherein each of the lateral doors is pivotally mounted to a corresponding structural member of the housing.